"The best PS2 traffic racer goes to MC3 Dub Remix"

I give MC3 Dub Remix a 10/10 for fun factor. I will give it a 9.5/10 for how well made it is. I would give the original MC3 the same scores.

WHAT MC3 HAS TO OFFER:

In Career mode, you start off meeting a mechanic in San Diego who will sell you a lowly "D" class stock model of a car. The idea then is to win races, make money to upgrade your engine, enjoy modifying the look of your ride, win new cars, move up to "A" class Exotics, and become the US Champion street racer. There are 93 licenced vehicles in MC3 Dub REMIX. You get to race with tuners, classic muscle cars, luxury sedans, pick ups, SUVs, hummers, choppers, motor bikes, and exotics. These different vehicle types have their own special abilities like Argo (smash anything in your way), Roar (Send out a shock wave and knock other racers and traffiv flying), and Zone (slow down time to take corners faster). The random night weather allows for dawn, dusk, night, night wet, rain, fog, icy conditions, and snow.

In REMIX, Tokyo Challenge is a new mini Career mode (a whole new city added from MC2) with which you can open up new cars added to this greatest hits addition.

MC3 also has an Arcade mode where you can play single player or split screen multiplayer. In Arcade mode, you can play cruise, circuit races, ordered races, unordered races, autocross races, track races, and battle games such as capture the flag, paint, frenzy, and tag. You can turn power ups -- strictly for arcade mode -- on or off.

It also has an online feature with which I cannot make a comment about since I do not play online.

MC3 also has a track editor so you can create your own route through the city to race on. You can do the same in Remix's Tokyo.

THE GAMEPLAY:

The gameplay is adrenaline filled racing. All four cities are large and well designed for fast pace racing. There is more traffic in MC3's racing then there is in other traffic racers. The sense of speed from the vehicles is very fast especially from the class "A" vehicles. The vehicles all handle differently and don't feel to heavy (GT4) or to light (Burnout 3).

There is a lot of traffic and road clutter like mailboxes, newspaper boxes, and lamp posts to crash into and knock over which adds to the adrenaline that you feel as you race at top speeds.

When you are racing, the cities' tight streets also add to the sense of speed. If you were racing from 150 to 300 miles an hour in real city streets it would feel like you were out of control fast. It really feels like that in MC3. The cities are designed to feel like and look like the real cities (to a point) when you race at full steam through them. The well designed city streets add to the adrenaline rush you feel when racing.

The racing in MC3 is point to point OPEN city racing. These are not closed off tracks. This also adds to the intensity of the racing. There are circuit races, ordered point to point races, and unordered (pick your own order) point to point racing. There are some closed off barricaded timed races called autocross races (fastest time wins). Later, theses autocross races turn into track races where you race against other cars inside these same barricades.

Overall, the gameplay deserves a 10/10 because it is the only racer on the PS2 that gives me an adrenaline rush. The adrenaline rush I get comes from the very fast sense of speed, the city street's tight corners, the clutter and traffic I bang into or race around, and the open city -- know where your going and keep your wits about you -- type of racing.

THE GRAPHICS:

The graphics are quite good for 4 open large cities. You can see the traffic well ahead due to the head lights come at you. The cars are detailed and look great. You can customize the vehicles the way you want them to look, and are able to camera zoom around them in the garage, outside in the streets (when paused), or while flying through the air. You can watch race replays and check out your rides.

With all the weather effects, large cities, and busy and cluttered streets, MC3 looks great and rarely ever has slow down.

SOUND:

Music is a matter of taste, so I won't say much. It does have a variety of music types, and you have have only one type if you want. REMIX has 25 new added songs to its already big list.

The engine sounds are great and personalized for each vehicle.

REPLAY VALUE

If you like adrenaline filled racing, like the modes mentioned above, and the gameplay mentioned above, you -- like I -- will gets lots of replay value out of MC3 Dub Remix and greatest hits price. What a bargin.